


Sleeping with Other People

by ladylace616



Category: Hey Arnold!
Genre: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, Drugs, F/M, Romance, Work In Progress, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-10-16 21:03:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 13,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10579434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylace616/pseuds/ladylace616
Summary: A Hey Arnold! fanfiction loosely based on the movie Sleeping with other People. In the middle of college, Helga drops out and moves back home. She discovers unfortunate circumstances have also brought a certain football headed figure from her past back to town, as well.  They find themselves in uncharted territory as they deal with grief and their personal problems to form a deeper connection. Has Helga moved on from her past, or will her past catch up with her eventually?





	1. HELGA I

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and reviewing! Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me, they belong to Craig Bartlett. I am just borrowing them. I was happy just to watch the show and lend a more realistic view of how life could have been for the characters as they grew older. Enjoy!

**HELGA**

The alarm blared on her bedside table, yet Helga was too far gone to hear it. It was Bob that came into her room in the middle of the afternoon and clicked the infernal machine off. Helga’s room was musty smelling and dark, the curtains in the room dingy and drawn closed.

His twenty-something daughter was curled under the covers, nowhere to be seen. Correction, when he looked more closely, he saw a few exposed toes dangling out of the end of her purple blanket with chipped black nail polish to match her fingernails.

He grabbed her pinky toe and pulled on it to pop it, and Helga jerked awake with a pained gasp. “What the hell!” she bellowed, and nearly kicked Bob in the face trying to retract her foot from his grasp. Bob’s laugh boomed loud in the room, a most unwelcome sound for a hungover Helga.

“It’s almost two o’clock, you oughtta get up,” Bob said. “Thanks, Bob!” Helga muttered, mustering as much sarcasm as she could, “I didn’t notice.” Helga swung her bare legs over the edge of the bed and sat up in bed. She was wearing sleeping shorts and a loose tank top, her make up smudged around her eyes from falling straight into bed last night.

She and Sid tied a few on at his house. She didn’t stay the night because she never liked to stay the night. She didn’t like to give Sid the wrong message, although she feared she already had since they were sleeping together.

They slept together, and he kept her high as a kite when he was around. She wasn’t with him because he was funny or good looking, because he wasn’t necessarily either. Sid had grown into a shifty youth, always looking over his shoulder from being in debt to someone or rather.

He was prone to acne and the peach fuzz above his lip never fully matured into a mustache but he kept trying. He still dressed like a greaser in leather jackets and boots. He hustled down at the Pool Hall and dealt some pretty primo weed to get by. He could never hold down a decent job.

When Helga rolled back into town, she actually came across him trying to sell to some teenagers at the arcade. It was a group of three pimply faced losers from high school, and their faces went from psyched to shadowed in fear in two point seconds flat when Helga’s silhouette fell over the group.

Helga was the same old Helga, and yet not the same. Her hair was still bright yellow, but she wore it short and wavy almost to her shoulders. Her ears were pierced multiple times over. She would have been pretty if not for the perpetual scowl on her face.

“Guys, you’ve got the rest of your lives to fuck them up, no reason to start early today,” she said, with the familiar tone of malice from her youth. She still sounded like a tough bully, someone you’d better obey. “Scram.”

Sid would have been angry if he didn’t realize who she was. “Helga, what are you doing here?” he asked, casting an anxious eye in the direction the teenagers had hastily taken off. Helga watched them go and clamped a hand down on Sid’s boney shoulder. He jumped involuntarily.

“Don’t get your panties in a wad, I’ll buy whatever it is you were trying to unload,” she scoffed at him, deflecting the question. He visibly relaxed, his face brightening. “For sure, Helga, for sure,” he said, taking in her general appearance.

She wore ratty jeans with holes in the knees that were acid washed. Her nails were painted black and chipped. She had on a black band t-shirt that was faded and still looked very much the tomboy part. She didn’t have an ounce of make up on, and still would have looked pretty if she could only smile. She looked like she’d just rolled out of bed, in a disheveled but cavalier way.

They walked back to his apartment, and got high in his living room. When Sid put his hand on her thigh, she let him. Helga didn’t date in the traditional sense. She only had a couple of real boyfriends. The rest of the people she’d slept with were just people she knew somehow.

That was her way, she preferred no strings attached. She used sex as a stress release. It was nothing more to her, it didn’t need to be personal. She had sex with people early because it was less complicated than loving them.

Helga had been burned by love, she didn’t need it. Love was for the birds. She didn’t need relationships. A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle and all. Sid just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

He leaned into her and started kissing her, and she welcomed him closer. What else did she have to do? She had nowhere else to be. No one else wanted her, so she kissed him back. They made out on his couch and she went home alone.

Helga had dropped out of college and moved back home. She had been pursuing a degree in law. She wanted to make some real money in life, not live a starving artist career being an unknown poet.  She was on the debate team in high school and really enjoyed the experience. Her articulate vocabulary and menacing presence served her well and gave her a sense of power.

At first, she had a passion for it. The sheer volume of information and books she had to read and papers to write and study began to get the best of her, though. She started crumbling under the pressure. She relied more on the drugs, using them to stay up all night and write term papers.

She worked hard and played hard. Until her playing hard went too far one day. Helga had to be rushed to the emergency room with alcohol poisoning.

It was a sobering wake up call, and she withdrew from all her classes the next day. She packed up and went back home without an explanation. Her parents must have realized she had a problem, but they left her to her own devices as usual.

She started hanging out with Sid for lack of other company. He was the one who suggested the bowling alley as a place for her to get a job now that she’d moved back. He sometimes sold pot to teens there and knew they were looking for help in the evenings. Helga got the job and gave Sid free pitchers of beers while he hung out with her.

As much as they were together, they didn’t learn very much about each other. They didn’t talk about her parents, or his. They hardly talked about anything that mattered, preferring to get high at his apartment and watch TV shows together. They reminisced about the old times a lot, somehow both knowing that was safer territory for the other. He didn’t ask her about college, and she was grateful that he kept his distance that way.

They had been dating for a couple of weeks before Helga realized the folly she’d made. He assumed they were in a relationship, and she was just hanging out with him to pass the time. He wasn’t anything to her, and it was awkward to tell him that now.

There was a toothbrush just for her in his bathroom. He had a drawer in his nightstand cleared out for her. There was a hair brush, hair tie, and some underwear she’d left behind once cleaned and laundered in the drawer. It was sparse, but it was enough to make her uneasy when she looked down at it her from her side of the bed.

That she even had a side of the bed was discomforting, and she felt a sweat begin to break out on her brow. She had been spending time with Sid lately, but she didn’t feel anything. Not like he did for her. He started asking her, “Do you have to go? Why don’t you spend the night?”

She accidentally let him get too close. As soon as feelings started to cloud matters, Helga had to get out.


	2. ARNOLD I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helga runs into a football headed figure from her past and their meeting is under less than ideal circumstances.

**ARNOLD**

Arnold was taking a break from maintenance work at the boarding house. He had lost track of time and worked right through lunch time. Being a bachelor, he didn’t have much in way of food in the boarding house kitchen so he opted to go out for his dinner. There was an Italian restaurant down the street that was affordable.

Arnold had recently moved back into the boarding house. It was emptier than ever, and not just because of his grandparents’ death. When Grandpa died, Gertie might as well have died right along with him. She passed her last days as any elderly woman with dementia, completely normal. Not herself. They said she died of a broken heart. With their deaths, Arnold made his way home.

Arnold made his way to the restaurant. He was seated at the bar by a young, pretty brunette who batted her lashes at him. He quickly placed his order and drank a coke she brought him while he waited.

He had already received a plate of spaghetti and was about to finish it off when a man shouted and jumped to his feet at a table nearby. The man was tall and skinny, and his dark hair was unruly. His face was bright red and he had a distinctive nose. He banged his fist on the table, drawing everyone’s attention in the restaurant.

“Did you do this in public so I wouldn’t make a scene?!?”

 _Obviously that didn’t work_ , Arnold thought. Looking closer, he recognized the angry man to be the one and only Sid. He hadn’t run into him yet since returning. In high school, they hadn’t exactly ran in the same circles and had grown apart. He was surprised to see him looking so angry.

“Look, he’s looking! She’s looking,” Sid was yelling, pointing fingers. “I’m embarrassed! Why did you do this to me?!” he dramatically wailed.

Sid attempted to run from the restaurant and smacked into a waiter carrying a tray full of food. He wheeled around, almost fell, and then kept on running out the front door. He left the poor waiter behind with the mess he’d created, chicken alfredo landing all over a woman’s head. In the chaos that followed, Arnold watched the person still remaining at the table Sid left behind.

He would recognize that sullen frown and unibrow anywhere. She didn’t have a stitch of pink clothing on, but he knew Helga G. Pataki when he saw her. Her face looked neutral despite just ridding herself of a supposed boyfriend. She didn’t look upset, so Arnold felt obliged to make his way towards her after he paid for his meal.

She didn’t see him coming. She was busy reaching into a black backpack beside her on the ground, presumably to pay their bill. Their food was sitting on the table half eaten, abandoned. When she looked up, the blonde was startled. “Geez, Football Head! Where’d you come from?!” she exclaimed.

After years of not seeing each other, of course that was the first thing out of her mouth.

“Hard not to notice that little scene of yours,” Arnold commented lightly. He looked down at her with his knowing, half-lidded gaze. Helga’s eyes widened as she realized he’d witnessed the whole spectacle.

Her face reddened, then she rolled her eyes irritably. She stood up abruptly, picking up her backpack, and threw some bills on the table. “Don’t see what you’ve got to do with it,” she brusquely said and stepped around him, heading towards the exit.

Arnold doggedly followed her from the restaurant. “Wait, Helga! What the hell? I was just checking on you,” he implored her to stop. “That’s not your job, dweeb,” she said, sounding positively peeved. “It’s not your job to make sure everything goes okay for everybody else, you know.”

“I don’t think that! Look, I didn’t mean to offend you,” Arnold said, trying to calm her. Helga and he were standing on the sidewalk and the sun was starting to set. Helga looked down the street where the horizon was, and she was quiet for a moment. Arnold held his breath.

“You sleep with a guy once or twice and he thinks he owns you,” Helga huffed. “I was just disillusioning him of this fact.” Arnold suppressed a laugh. “You and Sid, huh?”

“Yeah, what about it?” she said with some sass. There was an edge to her voice. “So you’re over, huh?” Helga pursed her lips and nodded. “How’s that?” he asked.

“None of your beeswax, Arnoldo,” Helga spat and she was a vision of her past self. “Now if you’re done flapping your jaw, I gotta be heading home,” she said. She hiked her backpack further up on her shoulder and looked back at Arnold, but he didn’t ask her to stay.


	3. ARNOLD II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold remembers the last time he saw Helga, and the impression she had on him then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short chapter, hope you'll stick around for the next!

**ARNOLD**

**_Two Years Ago_ **

They were both attending an outdoor wedding in the spring. The last time he’d seen Helga was when Phoebe and Gerald tied the knot. It was a miracle the blissful couple were able to get Arnold state side long enough to attend. Nothing would have prevented him though, given he was to be the best man.

Arnold stood beside Gerald at the front of the procession and was in charge of the rings. As the priest officiated their ceremony, Arnold found his eyes wandering over the crowd. He recognized many old family and friends. He spotted Helga sitting in one of the rows.

She was wearing make up that made her look more feminine than he had ever seen her look. He couldn’t help but to notice her. Her arms were bare in a long and flowing blue colored dress. Her expression softened when she looked at the bride and groom exchanging their vows. The curve of her lips was hard to miss. He wasn’t used to the happy smile on her face, and it surprised him how beautiful she looked. It was like she was a stranger.

After the ceremony, he found himself walking over to her to offer her a glass of champagne. He didn’t notice her look down at it and purse her lips before she took it. He was too busy gesturing around them. “This is like a high school reunion,” he commented.

Eugene had moved away. He lived in the city with his actor boyfriend. Rhonda had also moved away and found some success in the fashion world. Curly, Sid, Stinky, and Harold all still lived in town and were in attendance. Curly was an optometrist at the mall, Harold owned the butcher shop, and Stinky worked as an auto mechanic.

“Yeah, much too soon,” Helga muttered. Arnold laughed. “Awe, come on! Tell me it’s not good to see the gang. What have you been up to anyway?” he asked.

Helga lived at and went to a university in the city. She was excelling in all her creative writing classes. She was getting a degree in English Literature. Life was simple; she was doing something she loved. She had a boyfriend in the city who was in a band.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

Arnold had been living in San Lorenzo. He went in search of his parents and discovered their untimely demise. He never left the place they left him for. He understood the beauty of the land and he lived a simple life. He worked on a ranch as a cowhand and loved horses. He was born to break them, tame their wild hearts.

“It’s a living,” he said.

Jamie-O sauntered up to the blondes. He only had eyes for Helga, though. He held his hand out to her. “May I have this dance?” he asked. Helga took one sidelong look at Arnold, and she offered Jamie-O her hand.

“Only if you promise not to step on my toes,” she smirked. They walked out onto the dance floor together, leaving Arnold behind. He found himself wondering why he hadn’t asked her first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It's very common for people in college to change their majors at least once. Helga was happier going to school for a literature degree, but her pragmatic side took over and she decided to pursue law instead later on.


	4. HELGA II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helga and Arnold run into each other someplace they never expected.

**HELGA**

Seeing Arnold was not easy for Helga. She berated herself as soon as she was around the corner from the restaurant. “Why must I always revert to my old ways and shove him away from me?” she moaned.

The way Arnold had come after her, concerned, bothered her. She hated that he was the same man he’d always been; infuriatingly lovable. Seeing him was just like it had been in her youth.

It was like she was walking around in a black and white picture, and then his golden colored hair lit up her life and he was the only thing in color for her. Their years apart had dulled her feelings. At the sight of him though, her feelings stirred. She remembered the mad, sweet longing that filled her every day for years. She felt it blooming from somewhere deep within she’d somehow forgotten. In the sober light of day, standing right in front of her, it was hard to ignore the way her heart sped up when she saw him.

Days went by, and Helga sought help at her old therapist’s office. Since her return to town, she had begun seeing a new therapist in practice there. She went once a week. One afternoon, she was sitting in the waiting room and playing on her phone waiting for her session. The door to the therapist’s office opened.

She looked up and a certain football headed man was standing there looking back at her. Arnold blushed and rubbed at the back of his neck self-consciously. He stammered, looking for anything to say. Helga broke the ice.

“Of all the shrink’s offices, you had to walk into mine?” she gibed at him in good humor. He rolled his eyes at her and scoffed. “Hey Helga, what are you doing here?”

Helga stood up and stretched. “I’m obviously touched in the head, Arnoldo. Why else would I be here?” She shrugged. “Anybody would be, having to live with Bob and Miriam again,” she groused.

“Your parents giving you a hard time?”

“That’s the understatement of a lifetime,” she replied. She dragged her hand down her face in aggravation. “They’re part of the reason I’m here,” she said, gesturing with her thumb at the shrink’s door.

“I gotta find a place of my own, it’s not working out being back here with them.”

Arnold paused thoughtfully. “You know,” he told her, “I’ve decided to stay here for a while and fix the boarding house up. Rent out to more people maybe.” Helga looked quizzical.

“You could have one of the rooms, if you wanted,” he offered.

“Thanks Football Head, I might just take you up on that,” Helga said, “before I go completely nuts.” She made the whacko symbol near her ear with a casual frankness, and Arnold grinned. She was actually very taken aback. She had no idea what she might actually do. Arnold said, “Call me, we can talk it over.”

“Sure. I’ll do that.”

Helga moved in two weeks later.


	5. ARNOLD III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Arnold and Helga live under the same roof, Arnold can't help but feel concerned for his new tenant. He is nothing if not a chivalrous youth, so he hastens to check on her and offer her help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're looking for some music to listen to while reading this fic, I would recommend "She's So Mean" by Matchbox Twenty. I listened to it a lot for inspiration for the fic, it seems like a very Helga song to me. I would love to see a ArnoldxHelga music video to it if I ever got the chance ^_^
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy!

**ARNOLD**

Arnold was lonely since he’d moved back to Hillwood. He spent a lot of time by himself. He didn’t have a job to speak of because he didn’t have need of one. He had received some money when his grandparents passed and his own savings from living abroad kept him afloat. He didn’t think he could handle an office job, truthfully. He didn’t think he could be around people as much in general because he felt so blue.

He was grieving, and being in the boarding house all the time didn’t make things easier for him. He had so many memories from the big, brick building. He could have chosen any room for himself, but he still slept in his old bedroom. Arnold wasn’t afraid to admit when he needed help. The only parents he had ever known were gone. He started going to a therapist to help with his grieving process.

It was a surprise to him when he ran into Helga at the office. He was even more surprised when she took him up on his offer. Things must have been bad at home for her to actually concede to living under the same roof as him.

Arnold welcomed the company. He didn’t have as many friends in town anymore; Gerald and Phoebe had moved. Most of the tenants from his youth were gone. Ernie was the only tenant still left from the old days. The Kokoshkas eventually got divorced and went their separate ways. Mr. Hyunh got married and moved away.

Arnold was glad to get more tenants in the boarding house, even if it was the one and only Helga G. Pataki. She might be rough around the edges, but he was convinced he could handle her. He thought renting her a room might make him feel less alone, but he remained undisturbed.

He walked down the hallway past Helga’s room, hoping to bump into her. His excuse was readied at the tip of his tongue, “Oh, I was just on my way to the bathroom…..” He kept hoping that Helga would come out and see him, but she never did. She remained a frustratingly quiet tenant, until the day she wasn’t.

When he passed by her room, he heard the unmistakable sound of her retching repeatedly. Arnold was nothing if not a chivalrous youth, so he hastened to check on her and offer her help. He listened at her door for a beat, then rapped his knuckles on the door. She didn’t seem to hear him, so Arnold cracked the bedroom door open a fraction and stuck his head in.

“Helga?”

The room was dark. She was crouched on the floor by the waste basket by her desk. Her back was turned to him, and she was dry heaving loudly. She seemed not to hear him. When he looked at the bed, he saw a half empty bottle of gin on its side. There were more bottles of liquor on her bedside table. Her room had an odor to it he couldn’t place at first.

Arnold let himself in. He went to Helga, and tentatively touched her back. At first she was startled, and turned to look at him ready to bitch him out. No doubt to lecture him for intruding in her room. Before she got the chance though, she was bent over the trashcan heaving violently again.

Arnold winced and pulled her blond hair back. Now that he was closer, he could see that Helga was a mess. She had sick down the front of shirt, and she was crying.

When she weakly pulled away from the waste basket, she didn’t have the energy to yell at him. She was drunk, her head wobbling and heavy on her neck. She had nothing to say, but the tears kept coming even after she was done being sick.

Arnold helped Helga back to bed, heaving her up and supporting her weight. He sat her down on the bed and she limply let go of him. She was so far gone, he doubted she would mind if he helped her clean up. “Helga, we gotta get that shirt off you,” he said. She just nodded.

“Have at it Football Head,” she said, her speech slurred.

Arnold rolled his eyes and went to her closet. When he got closer to the window, he noticed the cause of the smell in her room; some dank weed. She had an ashtray and glass pipe sitting on the window sill with a lighter. His brow knitted in disapproval and a deeper concern. He had no idea Helga was struggling so much.

He grabbed a grey tank top from her sparse closet and pulled Helga’s dirty shirt off. She was wearing a modest pink bra that he tried very hard not to notice. Once he got the tank top on her, she collapsed onto her side on the bed and curled up.

He left the room to go to the kitchen and get her a glass of water. He soaked a wash cloth in cold water and brought that back with him to the room. Helga was still lying in the bed, and she groaned when the bed shifted with his weight as he sat down.

“Drink some of this,” Arnold said, offering her the glass. Helga managed to sit up enough to greedily gulp some down. “Thanks Arnold,” she said and smiled, then passed out.

Helga didn’t remember it the next day. The only indicator that anything was amiss was she noticed the glass of water and aspirin laid out on her bedside table; a thoughtful act that she herself was not capable of the foresight. Helga brooded to herself as she sipped the cool water.

He must have seen her at her worst. A bitter feeling of disappointment lingered in her. She wanted to curse at herself, smash things. She would have to deal with the consequences soon, and she could think of nothing she dreaded more.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for reading! I appreciate the kudos and wanted to inform you the chapters will be getting longer from this point forward. While I do have this story mostly finished, I still wouldn't mind input or constructive criticism. Feel free to leave a comment!


	6. HELGA III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helga and Arnold spend some time together and get to know each other better.

**HELGA**

Helga made her way downstairs, looking for Arnold. She had changed into a purple t-shirt with dark jeans and tennis shoes. She tried the kitchen but didn’t find him. He was sitting in the green room watching TV on the ancient set his grandparents used to own. Helga cleared her throat uncomfortably when she entered the room.

“Hey Helga, how’re you doin’?”

“I feel like a train ran over me, that’s how I feel,” Helga snidely remarked. She approached the ratty old couch and sat down next to Arnold. “But thanks for the medicine,” she added. “No problem,” Arnold said and continued flipping through TV channels.

“Hey, so…I’m not sure how to say this but I’m sorry about whatever you saw,” it all rushed out of her mouth at once. She felt very defensive. “I’m not used to anyone checking in on me, I wasn’t necessarily prepared to clean house,” she awkwardly said.

Arnold raised a curious eyebrow. “How often does that happen?”

“How often does what happen?” She rubbed her arm self-consciously, averting her eyes. She was unaware of her actions last night. There was no telling what she might have said or done. She knew she was capable of some pretty bad things. She had a foul mouth sometimes. She dreaded what he would say next.

“How often do you drink so much you black out?” Arnold bluntly asked.

“Oh geez, Football Head, you think I keep track?”

“That much? That sounds like a problem, Helga,” the blonde said and his eyes looked just as concerned as they once had. When they were kids he always felt the need to alleviate everyone’s problems and help them because he could, and she sensed he was still not over that conviction. It was such a noble trait she had a hard time not admiring it. It was even more inspiring given they’d both grown up, but he was still a generous person and her heart had hardened unmistakably.

Helga’s grudging admiration disappeared as she processed what he said. She didn’t want his pity. “Look, people have problems sometimes, and you can’t say you’re not surprised given who I grew up around,” Helga said. She looked incredibly crestfallen and vulnerable.

“I’m not saying she was right, but dammit, if it doesn’t help some,” Helga moodily admitted. “I tried to stay away from it, but then I thought I was giving it too much power. Y’know? College just ain’t college ‘til you’ve woke up and not known how you got there,” she said with a wry laugh. Arnold laughed with her.

“Just because Miriam had a problem didn’t mean I had to,” she sadly added on. ‘ _But I do.’_ It was silent, but they could both feel the confession hanging in the air unsaid.

“You don’t have to repeat your mother’s mistakes,” Arnold slowly said. “It might help in the short run, but that’s no long term solution. Ask your mother,” Arnold meaningfully added, his voice saturated in sympathy. It was hard for Helga to hear, and her scowl became fierce on her face.

“Listen to you, like you’ve got it all figured out,” Helga chided. She scoffed. She hated that he sounded just like her therapist. “Obviously not! Listen here, bucko, we met in the same shrink’s office you know,” she said. They had not spoken of their chance meeting since it happened.

“That reminds me, what made you start going there?”

Her voice was shrill as she asked, prying into his personal life. Arnold’s brow wrinkled in distaste, not really willing to delve into his issues. He decided not to provoke her ire though and told the simple truth.

“I miss grandma and grandpa,” he admitted. “A lot.”

With those two words, Helga understood the depth of feeling behind them. She involuntarily reached down and touched his hand resting on the couch.

“It’ll get better,” Helga tried to cheer him up.

“Let’s hope so,” Arnold said.

_‘For both of us, hopefully.’_

*~*~*~*~*~*

Helga took to hanging out in the green room instead of up in her room. She set up an easel in the corner and started painting. She used a lot of red and purple, angry colors. Black. Her art looked like it was trying to crawl out of the frame. It was full of emotion. Arnold would watch his TV shows while she sat quietly painting, not needing to say a word between them.

She still drank, but he noticed beer bottles now more than liquor. They got more familiar with each other. She went to work at nights but during the day they hung out around the boarding house when she wasn’t sleeping.

Helga helped him with the maintenance work. They redid the wallpaper in various bedrooms. They went to the carpet store to price check new carpet for the hallways to make the place seem more inviting. They had removed the “NO KIDS PETS OK” signs from the front of the brick building. Their aim was to attract new tenants eventually. For the time being, it was just them and Ernie. She rarely saw the old man since she usually didn’t come home until the wee hours.

One night, Arnold and Helga stayed up late drinking together in the green room. They watched a movie, talking and laughing. Arnold was relaxed, a predictably dopey kind of drunk. Helga had only seen Arnold drunk one other time, and it was a time that was close to her heart.

Somehow, they ended up talking about it. The movie they were watching was about a teenage girl trying to lose her virginity and general hilarity ensued.

“Who was your first?” Helga asked, sipping on her long neck. Arnold slapped his knee and laughed. “It’s funny that you ask, because I’d have to say it was that one time with you,” he confessed.

Helga stopped cold. She didn’t realize he remembered that. “What do you mean that time was your first time?!” she cried. “You were always dating different girls in high school,” Helga said incredulously.

He did get around, but Arnold shrugged. “Surprise, surprise, I’m not the Casanova you’ve made me out to be,” he joked.

Helga remembered that night. It was the summer after their graduation before Arnold left to go looking for his parents. Iggy was throwing a house party and it was the biggest bash of the season. Gerald and Arnold were there together and they were both ripped out of their minds.

One of the games for the night was seven minutes in heaven. Nadine picked Helga and Arnold for a round and they were locked in a small closet. When the crowd opened the door seven minutes later, they were making out with gusto. Helga didn’t know how she and Arnold ended up in the same dark room that night, but they needed to be alone some more.

She only knew that it was special, something her girlhood self had wished for years. She gave him her most precious gift, as it was always destined to be in her mind. She was gone by the time he woke up. She went off to college, and he left the country. They hadn’t spoken of it since.

“Why, who was your first?” Arnold asked with an arched eyebrow. He had a funny feeling he knew.

Helga fiddled with the peeling beer label on her bottle. “That would be you, too, Arnoldo,” she softly admitted. “Lost our v-cards to each other, huh?” she asked nonchalantly.

“Well, when you think about it, it’s a good thing that we never really got together,” Arnold said. “You know, that that’s all we did.” He sighed. He and Helga had become closer over the last couple of weeks. He would almost call them friends, and he felt he could be honest with her.

“I can never make it last with girls for some reason. I would have just broke your heart,” Arnold said with a sly smile. Helga punched his arm affectionately.

“What’s wrong with you?” she rudely asked. “Why don’t things ever work out?”

“I guess I’m just not normal. I always seem to attract girls who are wrong for me.”

“Wouldn’t you know it,” Helga said under her breath.

What he didn’t admit was that he had impossibly high standards, and girls never seemed to measure up. Growing up, Arnold was a little shallower than he liked to admit. He’d never lost his propensity for liking pretty girls, then being disappointed when they didn’t have anything intelligent to say.

Women his age never seemed to be on the same wavelength as him. He wasn’t interested in one night stands or casual liaisons like so many of his peers preferred. He would never admit it out loud, but Arnold was looking for someone special like his parents had. He just hadn’t found her yet, or so he thought.


	7. HELGA IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar face shows up at the bowling alley Helga works in.

**HELGA**

Helga liked working at the bowling alley. She worked there chiefly because they didn’t care if she had a few beers on the job. Honestly, the beer made Helga a lot more pleasant to work around.

She was known as the girl who was perpetually on her period, manic and crazy. Everyone knew not to come within a ten foot radius of her when she was in one of her moods.

The bowling alley she worked at also had an old time diner attached. It kept the venue alive for the most part. They served hamburgers and shakes and classic American fare. Helga was a hit with the other staff. As she matured, she found a way to be assertive and still stand out without having to bully people as much. She made friends more easily.

They thought she was hilarious when she had to waitress because her attitude and sass with the customers was priceless. It was her least favorite part of the job and she would smile at the customers then insult them back in the kitchen, getting everyone to laugh. Just because she didn’t use it as much, she still had a mean funny bone. Her sardonic wit had only gotten better with age.

Most of their days were spent goofing on each other somehow, and serving pimply teens who were the most frequent patrons of the dingy bowling alley. Helga worked with mostly teenage girls, but some of staff was old enough to drink. Nancy was one of the few. She wore a perpetual pout on her gothy lips, but today she was smiling. Helga was working the shoe rental counter, and Nancy approached her with an excited grin. Her long dark hair hung down past her shoulders, and the yellow apron uniform clashed with her all black persona.

“Did you see that beefcake that just came in?” She made an appreciative hum at her observation.

Helga wasn’t impressed, thinking they never saw anyone particularly attractive at the joint. She craned her neck to look around Nancy, and she caught sight of some birthday party balloons being set up in the dining area by a harried middle aged woman.

There was a medium sized party of children crowded around the table. In the midst of all children, there was a man that towered over them. He had an amiable smile on his simple face, and boy, what a face. She would recognize that schnoz anywhere.

Stinky Peterson stood there in the flesh. He wasn’t necessarily the lean bean pole he was when they were younger. His shoulders had tapered out in high school and he’d really filled out. His arms were exposed in a black tank top and he had a farmer’s tan. What surprised her was the size of his muscles, and she quirked her eyebrow thoughtfully in his direction.

As Helga peered at him more closely, she remembered in high school he had played football. It certainly showed in his physique and powerful looking thighs. He was squeezed into his blue jeans and all the girls noticed. He wore workman’s boots on his feet.

Stinky and the herd of the children approached the shoe rental counter. Nancy nearly vibrated with excitement since she was standing next to Helga, and he was heading their way. He stopped in front of Helga.

 “Can I get a size 13?”

“Why Stinky, I’d know your clodhoppers anywhere,” she teased him. Stinky blinked and looked down at her, confused. She scowled more familiarly, and recognition filled his face. “Oh, Helga!! I didn’t recognize you at first!”

He looked overjoyed to see her, which Nancy sourly noted. She left the shoe counter to go back to waitressing. One of the kids tugged on Stinky’s shirt to get his attention. “Mom says I need size 6,” the chubby kid said to him.

“Stinky, this your kid?!” Helga looked dumbstruck.

“Shoot, no!” Stinky hastily said. “This here’s my cousin, we’re here for his brother’s birthday party,” he explained. Helga busied herself with getting the shoes for their party.

“I didn’t know you were back in town, Helga,” Stinky commented. “I’d have come by sooner.”

“Well that’s mighty white of you,” Helga said with a grin, and the kids ran off with their shoes. Stinky lingered behind. He made small talk with her until his aunt started waving him over. He seemed reluctant to leave, and Helga was sorry to see him go.

Stinky came to the bowling alley a few nights later. He was alone this time, and he came bearing white daisies. Helga would never admit it but she liked girly gestures just as much as the next girl.

“Can I call on you again, Helga?” he asked in his country drawl, and Helga nodded before she thought.

He was just as sweet as when they were younger. She remembered the time she hired Stinky to date her and make Arnold jealous, and the way he’d actually fallen for her. She turned him down flat in a matter of moments, but now, not so much.

Helga wasn’t kidding herself. She and Arnold had been spending more time than ever with each other, but she still felt that old familiar dread holding her back from him. It was hard to swallow the huge fear of rejection, especially knowing he was still far too good for the likes of her.

She knew Arnold would never look at her that way. She abandoned hope years ago that he might reciprocate. The Earth was round. Arnold didn’t want her romantically. Alcohol made every problem worse. These were the facts of her life as she knew it.

Helga surrounded herself in a ring of fire that was impenetrable. She was so afraid of people rejecting her she actively worked to make them dislike her first so she wouldn’t be disappointed. Still, she couldn’t help but to notice Stinky when he was flirting with the flames.

Helga told her therapist about him. She never mentioned one night stands to the doctor. It made her nervous to bring up Stinky; then she had to admit to herself that he was becoming a fixture in her life. A pattern had developed between them unspoken.

Stinky made it a habit to pick her up after work at night and drive her around, which she so often required. They went to house parties hosted by her co-workers where she got high and he watched over her. They went to the bars she liked to visit. He never minded any of it, but didn’t partake. He didn’t judge her. She was finding herself sucked in more and more by his boyish charm and simple nature.

Her therapist suggested she try something different; attempt a real relationship with the young man. It was a challenge for her. It was difficult for her to adjust to a new mindset. The physical aspects of relationships came easier to her than the messy feelings. It was so easy to just get your rocks off with someone and not have to listen to them talk about themselves first. She had gotten used to the anonymity of it all. She didn’t need to be close to someone to do that with them. When it had meaning behind it, it was harder for her.

Usually Helga had no qualms about not seeing the men she slept with, but Stinky was different. He was a childhood friend. They’d grown up with each other, and the same had been true of Sid, but Stinky was truly good to her. He was unforgettable because he actually cared about her. He treated her like a lady and he was always respectful. Getting to know him was actually a pleasure. He arranged a picnic for them in the park. They flew kites together like when they were kids.

Somehow, she found herself spending more time with him and it didn’t freak her out so much.

She spent some nights at his house. He still lived with his parents because he actually enjoyed his family life, something Helga didn’t share with him. Mostly, they were left well enough alone when his family members weren’t dead set on embarrassing him.

Helga hit a tipping point one night after they went to bed together. Their love making left her hot and sticky, but she couldn’t imagine leaving Stinky’s arms in that moment. It never even crossed her mind. Normally, the hair on the back of her neck stood up as her anxiety spiked and she would have to flee, avoiding the intimacy.

She didn’t realize how much she had yearned for simple intimacy. Stinky was a quiet fellow, but he was far from slow. One day when she wasn’t paying attention, he somehow worked his way past her defenses. She started trusting him and grew comfortable around him.

Stinky had matured into a responsible, hard-working man with grease permanently under his fingernails from working on cars. His hands were magical. He was attentive to details and a very sensual lover. It surprised the hell out of her, but one night she just forgot to get up and leave. They fell asleep in each other’s embrace.

When she woke up, she miraculously still didn’t feel the need to bolt. Stinky was standing over her, offering her a steaming hot mug of coffee with a smile. _‘I could get used to this,’_ she drowsily thought.

Against her will and better judgment, she was growing very fond of him.


	8. ARNOLD IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold notices Helga's absence more than he ever thought possible.

**ARNOLD**

Before Stinky stepped into the picture, Arnold and Helga had been growing closer. They were practically best friends. She told him everything, and even though her sense of humor was wicked he always found himself laughing. He enjoyed her company and he spent more time with her than anyone else. The time they spent together never felt wasted, even if they didn’t accomplish a damn thing.

When she started dating Stinky, she briefly mentioned it to Arnold. She didn’t make it sound like a big deal, just something she happened to be doing that week. She didn’t go into detail. That was why Arnold was surprised to hear otherwise a few nights later.

He was in the kitchen making a sandwich after Helga left. He thought he was alone in the house with Ernie being out somewhere. He was surprised when the tall and lanky form of Stinky came around the corner into the kitchen and almost bumped into him.

“Oh! Hey Arnold,” the taller youth said. Arnold stared at him queerly. “Uh… Stinky, what are you doing here?” Arnold wondered aloud. He hadn’t invited him over. He had barely seen him since his return to town. He was momentarily confused, until he remembered what Helga told him.

Stinky had the decency to blush. “I thought she might’ve told ya, but I guess not,” Stinky bashfully said. “Told me what?” Arnold asked, eyebrow arched. He was curious to hear what Stinky might say.

“Me and Helga are an item, we’re going out,” Stinky said with a smile. “She went to work, but she said I could stay over and make a sandwich, if that wouldn’t bother you too much, Arnold,” Stinky said hopefully.

For some reason, Arnold tasted something sour in his mouth. He wanted to throw up. He suppressed the urge with a grimace. “Sure, go ahead. I think I’ve lost my appetite,” he said.

Suddenly, he needed to be alone. Hearing that Helga was seeing someone exclusively made him question the time they’d been spending together _._ Laying on his bed up in his room, Arnold stared at the blue sky overhead. His thoughts raced, and he remembered the past few months living with Helga.

She was always around, ready to offer a sarcastic comment. When he was feeling down, she had a way of pressing his buttons so he forgot his blues. She read a lot, and it showed in her colorful vocabulary. Pre-Stinky, Helga talked about her past sexual partners with Arnold. She was very blasé and free with the details, more than he had actually liked. He was no stranger to her lifestyle.

Any idiot could see the sexual tension between them had been building. Their flirting had been subtle. He found himself sitting closer to her when they were watching TV together. Sometimes, she ruffled his hair when she walked behind him sitting on the couch, thoughtlessly needing to touch him.

 _‘Are we just friends?’_ he wondered.  

Helga answered that question for him when she started hanging out with Stinky more. He was just her friend. Any whiff of romantic feelings he might have been developing were halted suddenly. He was left feeling very confused and lonely.

When she started seeing Stinky, things changed between them almost overnight. He and Helga saw less and less of each other. Things felt awkward to him now. Helga had somehow taken a step back from him. He noticed her absence more than he ever thought he would.

She chose Stinky over him and the thought rankled Arnold. He felt like a fool for never telling her how he felt, that he enjoyed spending so much time with her in the mornings. He wanted to be the one to love her and help her, and she had chosen another. He never realized how he felt until she was claimed by another. That was always his mistake. She didn’t know he was an option.

Now that she was taken, Arnold respected her wishes. He purposefully didn’t spend as much time at the boarding house during the mornings. He hated running into Stinky, feeling jealous of the man’s immense height and the way he called Helga “darling” and she didn’t immediately end his life afterwards.

 He would never have thought it possible, but he even missed Helga calling him Football Head.


	9. ARNOLD V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold runs into another friendly face out for his early morning breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PG13 material. Mild groping, huzzah!~ lol

**ARNOLD**

After a couple of months peppered by intolerable mornings with Helga and Stinky, Arnold started going out to get his breakfast. One day, he was waiting for his order sitting at a booth in a diner when a familiar red head dropped into the seat across from him. “Boo!” she said, and her freckled face brought back so many memories for him.

“Lyla! I didn’t know you were still in town. How come I haven’t seen you ‘til now?”

Lyla was teaching at none other than P.S. 118. She had found her calling in educating children. It made sense to him. He figured she always had the right temperament for it. Her gentle spirit would be welcome around any classroom.

“I would have paid attention more in school if I had a teacher like you,” he flirted.

“Oh, Arnold,” Lyla blushed. “Ever the charmer, I see,” she giggled. “What’s brought you back to town?” she asked curiously.

Arnold sobered and the smile left his face. “My grandparents passed away, and I inherited the boarding house,” he said. “So I came home.”

Lyla’s face was full of pity as she reached across the table and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “Oh Arnold, I’m ever so sorry for your loss,” she mournfully said.

Arnold thanked her for her condolences and they started talking.

*~*~*~*~*

Their impromptu breakfast stretched into lunch, and Lyla found it hard to leave his company. Arnold was truly a sight for sore eyes. When they were kids, she had been silly and turned him down after he snubbed her first. She couldn’t forgive him then, but now was another story.

The small town girl turned city had never lost her effortless charm. She had grown up popular and beloved throughout school. She was still unfailingly kind and polite. At heart, she was a romantic who had been searching for “the one” for a while now, only he never seemed to show up. 

Yet even with her sunny personality, she still managed to date her share of nice guys and jerks alike. She had not met anyone willing to pop the question to her, though. She fretted about becoming an old maid as her peers teaching at school married off. She was not unaware that she was one of the only single women left at their faculty meetings.

She just couldn’t seem to find anyone permanent. She lived with two cats and a roommate because she couldn’t afford to live on her own with her teacher’s salary. Despite her best efforts, everything in her life was not going according to plan.

She loved teaching, but she only loved it because of the children. She had no love of the administrative staff or the penny pinching she had to do just to get by. She ultimately wanted what many of her peers had; to be a married mother and to quit teaching when she finally found the right guy.

She didn’t know if Arnold was the right guy, but she felt something with him that she had never experienced before. She was thrilled when they started dating. After they ran into each other the first time, Arnold asked for her number. He was the one who pursued her. They had long conversations at night on the phone, and they got to know each other better.

She remembered what a kind and wonderful guy he was. That he was easy on the eyes was the ultimate bonus, and she might even dare say her main motivator with him. Arnold was lean and muscular. His skin was tanned and his arms sinewy in their strength. There was a ruggedness about him. Yet behind that manliness, there lurked something else. His soulful blue eyes that had seen sorrow were one of his most enticing features. She felt drawn in by his half-lidded gaze.

His pursuit of her could only be described as…. bold. He was so confident that he was more exciting than anyone she had ever been with. One night when Arnold dropped her off at home, he lingered with her at her open door.

At first when he kissed her the pressure was soft yet urgent, but then his roving lips turned greedy and he was kissing her passionately. He gently backed her into her apartment with the living room shrouded in darkness, and shut the door behind them.

He pressed her against the door and his lips left hers to suck at her neck sensuously. She almost forgot that she had a roommate, and that the roommate might walk in at any moment. They weren’t exactly being discreet.

She felt hyper aware of his every touch. A jolt of pleasure shot through her at the way his hips gently pinned her to the door. He almost made her forget herself and moan out loud. She whimpered at his touch instead, and pleaded with him that they may be caught. She was terribly hot and bothered when he left shortly thereafter. It was definitely hard to get him off her mind by that point.

She found herself hoping he would be the one to finally ask her. She was certainly more than ready to settle down. She knew that Arnold had plenty of money.  He didn’t even need to work. He lived comfortably. They could easily have enough room for whatever kids they had, keeping the boarding house. In her mind, Lyla had great plans for Arnold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Approve, disapprove? Do you dislike Lyla as much as me? haha


	10. HELGA V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helga learns more about Arnold's love life than she wanted to know.

**HELGA**

Helga learned about Arnold’s new relationship with Lyla in a much less subtle way. It had always smugly satisfied her during school that he and Lyla never happened. Therefore, she was more than a little dismayed when she came home one night after work, earlier than normal, and surprised the couple. They weren’t the only ones who were surprised.

_‘What the hell is he doing with Lyla, of all people?!?’_

Lyla and Arnold were making out in the green room. He was lying on top of her in the dark with the TV light illuminating them. She giggled girlishly at something he did, but then they were limbs akimbo when Helga coughed loudly, announcing herself. 

They quickly righted themselves as Helga flipped on the lights. “Get a room, why don’t you,” she barked. “Some of us actually want to watch the TV, not pretend to,” she gruffly said and Lyla stood up. She was as red as her hair.

“I should be going,” she excused herself. Her hair was mussed in the back and there was a tale tell sign of a hickey on her fair neck. Arnold walked her to the front door, his hand resting familiarly on the small of her back. Helga’s heart dropped to the floor watching him kiss Lyla goodnight. It was torture. There was no other word for it.

Helga quickly reminded herself she had no reason to feel that way. She was, after all, mostly happy going out with Stinky. She didn’t even mind when he called her “my girl.” He was a sweet guy. He never pressured her or asked too many questions. Being with him was easy.

Being in love with Arnold was not. Being in love with Arnold was this deeper feeling than she had ever known. It was a romantic part of her that would never die- no matter how hard she tried to kill it. She talked about her Love Obsession with her therapist.

Her therapist was the one who encouraged her to pursue things with Stinky. She said it would be good for Helga to get Arnold off her mind, try something new. Getting closer to Stinky was a hard decision, but it was the right one. He was over the moon for her, most importantly. He was the only one willing enough to get close. Stinky was generous, sweet, and kind.

That was why he would never dream of not accepting when Lyla suggested a double date one day. One rare morning, they all woke up at the boarding house after respective nights with their dates. Arnold and Lyla were already eating cereal in the kitchen when Helga and Stinky walked in wearing their PJs.

“Oh! We didn’t hear you come in last night,” Lyla chirped. She was a vision of sunshine and happiness in the mornings like no one else. Chipper from the moment her eyes opened, which was certainly not the case for Helga. She was tiredly trying to brew some coffee, mostly to cure her hangover.

“We went to the movies last night,” Stinky said, joining the conversation. He busied himself by making some breakfast pastries for him and his lady. “That sounds lovely,” Lyla commented. “We should all go out sometime,” she innocently suggested.

“Yeah, that’ll be _fun_ ,” Helga said, sounding as if fun was synonymous with a slow and torturous death.

“Hot dog, we should!” Stinky said with his usual enthusiasm. Arnold and Helga watched, powerless to say anything, as their dates agreed on things. It was settled then and there that the following evening they were all going to go out for a dinner date together.

“Oh, joy,” Helga said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.


	11. LYLA

**LYLA**

Lyla was humming happily to herself, trying to make a final decision on an outfit when Arnold rang her bell the next night. “Coming!” she called.

Arnold looked amazing, as usual. She was giddy when he presented her with a bouquet of flowers at her front door. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him in, since she was only wearing a bra. She kissed him passionately in way of greeting.

When they came up for air, Arnold asked, “You almost ready?” He arched a brow and nodded at her toplessness. Lyla giggled and rolled her eyes. She put the flowers in a vase of water and finished getting ready. She moved all her essentials over to a smaller clutch purse to bring with them, and daintily placed her hand in the crook of Arnold’s elbow when she was finished. He escorted her outside with a smile.

“Your chariot awaits,” Arnold joked, referring to his grandpa’s old Packard. They were meeting Helga and Stinky at the restaurant. Lyla was excited to reconnect with old friends. She personally had not seen Stinky in years even though they lived in the same city. Helga, however, was another story.

Lyla had to admit she had ulterior motives when it came to the blonde. Arnold had not exactly been forthcoming about the fact that Helga lived with him. Lyla didn’t realize that Helga was a resident of the boarding house until the day Helga caught them making out on the couch.

The day after, Lyla wanted to drop by and surprise Arnold in the afternoon. It was Helga who answered the door. “Oh, Helga, it’s good to see you,” she awkwardly said. She was still embarrassed at having been caught.

“He’s not here,” Helga said. “But you’re welcome to hang out ‘til he gets back,” she offered. The scowl on her face didn’t look very inviting. She opened the door for Lyla, but she looked apprehensively over Helga’s shoulder.

“No, that’s okay,” she said, confusion setting in. “Are you visiting? Do you know someone who lives here?” she asked.

“Yeah, me,” Helga said matter-of-factly. “Are you sure you don’t wanna wait?”

Helga was looking at Lyla peculiarly, as if she was growing a second head. She was reacting to the weird way Lyla was behaving. Flustered, Lyla waved her off as politely as she could and hastily decamped.

Lyla knew how much Helga used to worship the ground Arnold walked on. She walked away from the boarding house in a turmoil. She tried to reason with herself that she didn’t know Helga anymore, maybe she had gotten over her childhood crush? Maybe she was not a threat; a woman, living in the same house as her boyfriend…

It made Lyla antsy. She debated asking Arnold to evict her, but she somehow knew that would not go over well. Instead, she decided to investigate matters further herself.

When they all met in the kitchen that morning, she capitalized on an opportunity to watch them interact together. She knew that Helga once had strong feelings for Arnold… but did he ever share the same feelings? Lyla had to see for herself.

They arrived at the restaurant before Stinky and Helga. The other couple were late. “We had to make a stop at the bar first,” Stinky explained, nonplussed. It didn’t seem to bother him that Helga had a drinking problem. Perhaps she needed courage for the night?

Helga was wearing a short green evening dress and dark grey heels. Stinky was in a more casual button up collared top and pleated, light gray colored trousers. He was very handsome and his demeanor was jovial. He never noticed the way Arnold looked away when he wrapped his arm around Helga, but Lyla did.

They were led to their table now that their whole party was present. They ordered their food and it seemed like Lyla and Stinky were holding up most of the conversation. Even Helga was making more banter with everyone than Arnold, who was being uncharacteristically quiet.

When they all got their food, Arnold and Helga reached for the same set of flatware. Their hands accidentally touched, and Helga pulled her hand back, realizing her mistake. Lyla and Stinky were busily reminiscing about old times, but she didn’t miss the way Helga’s eyes darted surreptitiously at Arnold every few moments afterwards.

It wasn’t long after that Helga excused herself to the ladies room. “Oh, you know us ladies,” Lyla jokingly said, and she stood up to follow Helga to the lavatory.

Helga was in a stall when she entered. Lyla helped herself to the restroom, and when she came out Helga was already standing at the sink washing her hands. She joined Helga at the mirror, standing side by side. “Stinky seems really sweet,” Lyla commented to her.

“Oh, yeah, I guess he is.”

“I’ll bet. You guys seem oh so happy together. No reason at all for you to still being carrying a torch for Arnold, is there? You aren’t, are you?” she asked in her most pleasant, perkiest tone.

Helga eyed her in the mirror. She went behind her and yanked some paper towels out of the dispenser to dry her hands. “I’m with Stinky now,” Helga slowly said.

She used and balled the paper towels up into a wad, aiming at the waste basket but missing it by a mile. She huffed impatiently as she turned on her heel and left the bathroom.

“That didn’t answer my question,” the red head said, but Helga was already gone.


	12. ARNOLD VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lover's tiff unfolds.

**ARNOLD**

**_Later that night_ **

“Arnold, I have to ask you something,” Lyla asked, sounding very nervous.

“Sure, anything, Lyla,” Arnold said. He was an open book.

Lyla paused uncertainly, and looked up at him through her full eyelashes. “I like you Arnold, so I need to know if I’m wasting my time here….” Arnold looked momentarily confused. “Is there something going on between you and Helga? Because it’s okay, if you’ll just be honest and tell me,” Lyla hastily added on.

Arnold was dumbstruck. _Was it so obvious?_ “What? With Helga?” he dumbly asked. “Yes, I saw the way she was looking at you,” Lyla accused. Arnold swallowed nervously. _Was she?_

“I don’t think so, Lyla. She’s happy with Stinky,” Arnold said with an air of finality. “But you live together,” Lyla stubbornly persisted. “You’re saying there’s not any hint of attraction there, for you?” she asked, her gaze sharp as she peered at him closely.

Arnold threw his hands up. “We live in the same _boarding_ house,” Arnold stressed. “It’s not like we share a room, or eat dinner together every night or anything,” Arnold said. They had, before Stinky. Arnold thought that best not to mention.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Lyla said, pulling him closer for a kiss. She nuzzled into his side, and Arnold stood there uncertainly. His arm went limply around her, his thoughts elsewhere.

“Just as long as you know it’s totally alright to tell me,” Lyla said, testing his resolve. She eyed him carefully, but he didn’t show any signs of changing his opinion.

She would just have to take him at his word. It was hard for her given that she knew very well how much Helga had once loved her boyfriend. She thought it must be hard to get over a love like that, so she didn’t trust Helga as far as she could throw her.

She innocently suggested that she could move into the boarding house to keep him company, and Arnold froze. He didn’t know what to say. He had not been dating Lyla for very long.

He was hard wired to avoid commitment. He knew he didn’t have the best track record with it. As soon as he got anywhere near settled with one girl, he got bored and needed something new. He always found out something wrong with the girls he liked the more he got to know them. It was a problem.

“I didn’t know we were _that_ serious,” Arnold unthinkingly said. Lyla looked hurt, as if he had struck her. She pouted dramatically. “I knew it! You don’t really want me around!!” she exclaimed. She started gathering up her purse to leave.

“Lyla, wait! That’s not it!” he had time to yell at her back before she slammed the front door. He could have gone after her, but then he would have to agree to something stupid. Arnold knew he needed his space. He did not need a needy girlfriend breathing down his neck even more hours of the day than she already was.

“Geez, Romeo, that sounded kinda bad,” Helga said. She appeared at the top of the stairs, making her way down them.

“She wants to move in here,” Arnold miserably said.

“Oh Arnold, that would be ever so pleasant,” Helga said in her best Lyla impersonation. Arnold shot her a dark look. “Yeah, yeah,” he rolled his eyes.

“Trouble in paradise?” Helga questioned. “I’m not ready for her to move in here,” Arnold explained. “I don’t even know how long I see this lasting, why would I make a place for her here if it’s not permanent?” he asked.

“If you’re not sure about her, you’re not doing her any favors by stringing her along,” Helga said. Arnold narrowed his eyes at Helga. “You’re one to talk,” he commented. Helga had dated many men before Stinky and not given a fig about them.

“That’s different, Arnoldo, we were all mutually using each other for easy sex,” Helga reminded him. “What you have going on is more of a one-sided affair here, buddy,” Helga said. Over the last couple of months, they had grown to know each other well. Helga knew that Lyla wasn’t really Arnold’s type. She was too sweet and conventional; too girl next door. Arnold needed someone with pizzazz, someone who could match his wanderlust. Arnold needed someone who was over the top. Someone in particular…

She shook herself mentally, trying to throw herself off that train of thought. She still couldn’t shake the thought that she alone was the only one who could truly appreciate and love Arnold the way he deserved to be loved. That’s why she hadn’t answered Lyla when she asked her question. Nosey bitch. It wasn’t any of her business.

Helga wasn’t inclined to share her feelings with Arnold. She knew he could never love her back the same way. He had said so himself he could never make things work with girls; she was probably no exception. He didn’t like her that way. Anyways, she was with Stinky now.

She should have been ashamed at her hypocrisy, but she wasn’t. She told Arnold he was just stringing Lyla along, because he didn’t seem that into her, and she was doing the same thing to poor Stinky. There was not a snowball’s chance in hell Helga would ever love Stinky as much as she loved Arnold, but that wasn’t the point of the exercise, in Helga’s mind.

She was dating Stinky to prove that she could. She could get over Arnold. She could have other meaningful relationships. She was surprised at herself, making things last as long as she had with Stinky. She wasn’t even really tired of him; any girl could get used to being pampered. Stinky always acted like a gentleman. They got along very well.

Yet she couldn’t deny the feelings he had were not the same as her own. While she did concede that he was her boyfriend, she felt friendlier with him than anything else. He didn’t make her stomach turn to butterflies or sweep her off her feet. They kissed, and they made love, but he was more like an old comfortable shoe.

That was why she was taken totally by surprise by him one night the following week.


	13. ARNOLD VII

**ARNOLD**

A week later, Arnold was sitting in Harold and Patty’s blue living room. They were happily married high school sweethearts. Patty and Lyla were buddies because they taught at the same school together. Patty had grown up to the P.E. teacher at P.S. 118. Harold was one of the friends from his youth he saw more often. He visited his meat shop at least once a week.

He and Lyla had been invited over for a couple’s game night. They were having chips and dip while they waited on the pot roast in the oven. Neither of the couples drank much, so there were cans of soda next to a big punch bowl full of ice and plastic cups. Arnold was getting them some drinks, talking to Harold, when he made a terrible discovery.

Harold and Stinky had remained friends over the years. They were, in fact, the best of friends. It came as no surprise to learn that when Stinky acquired a girlfriend, she would come to visit with him sometimes.

“I was surprised as hell when he brought Helga in!” Harold laughed, his rotund belly jiggling. Arnold smiled thinly. They took a seat in the living room while the ladies chatted in the kitchen.

 “Oh yeah, I’ll bet,” Arnold off handedly commented. “That girl was a living terror when we were kids, you remember?” Harold chortled when he asked.

Arnold resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “You don’t say,” he sarcastically remarked. Harold laughed. “Anyways, she’s not so bad now,” he said. “She’s funny as all get out,” he said.

“Stinky’s lucky. She turned out a lot prettier than I ever thought. I’m not surprised he’s asking her to marry him.”

 _‘Come again?’_ Arnold felt like the world had dropped out from under his feet. His eyes widened, and he couldn’t believe his ears. His vision became tunnel like, and he was suddenly standing up, unable to hide his agitation.

“What did you say?”

“Stinky’s gonna ask Helga to marry him,” Harold said again, confused. “Fool’s in love I guess, he even asked me to be his best man and everything,” Harold said most importantly.

“Did he say when he was going to do it?”

“Uhh, yeah. Tonight! He showed me the ring. A real humdinger,” Harold whistled, very unhelpfully.

Arnold looked around the room frantically, trying and failing to figure out his next action. _‘I have to stop him!’_ He had to beat Stinky to the punch and talk to Helga before she made such a big decision without all the information.

Arnold couldn’t hide it anymore. He had started dating Lyla almost entirely because Helga started seeing Stinky. He was jealous, and he needed the distraction because he was _not_ hung up on Helga G. Pataki.

Except he was, in a big way.

“I have to get going,” Arnold suddenly said. He searched for an escape. “Tell Lyla I’m sorry,” he hastily said, going towards the front door where his coat was hung up.

“Sorry for _what?_ ”

Lyla was standing at the entrance to the living room, staring hard at Arnold. She was carrying one of the dishes for their dinner, Patty standing right behind her.

“I’m sorry Lyla, but I have to go do something,” he tried to be vague. Lyla quickly deposited her plate on the table, and made her way towards Arnold to speak with him in hushed tones.

“We just got here, Arnold,” she protested. “You’re being ever so rude,” she accused him. “Where are you going in such a hurry anyway?” she felt the need to ask.

“I have to go, I don’t have time to explain,” Arnold said. He turned and was out the front door, walking down the steps of their stoop. The door opened and closed again behind him, and Lyla was standing on the top step.

For once in her life, Lyla’s sweeter-than-thou voice failed her. Her scream was shrill as she followed after him. “ARNOLD! Where do you think you’re going?!?!”

“I’m sorry, Lyla, but I can’t stay here. Stinky’s going to ask Helga to marry him, and you know I can’t let Helga accept!”

Lyla’s eyes turned big and round, stricken. She looked absolutely devastated, but she blinked back her tears. She nodded dolefully. “Just go then,” she said, her voice ragged with emotion.

She averted her eyes, and Arnold was sorry that he had to cause her so much pain so abruptly. He’d just humiliated her in front of their friends. It didn’t weigh lightly on his conscious.

He would never forgive himself though if he didn’t tell Helga how he felt. He couldn’t let her make a decision so big without all the facts. He loved her, and he thought maybe he’d loved her longer than he even knew.

Arnold left Lyla behind and jumped into the Packard. He went speeding towards his destination. During their conversation, Harold remembered that Stinky told them he was taking Helga to a romantic restaurant out near the lake. Arnold raced there like his life depended on it.

Pulling up into the parking lot, Arnold saw through the front of the restaurant. Its front entrance was a long stretch of foot to ceiling windows. The inside was Black and White themed and the place was pretty posh. Arnold surveyed the faces sitting at the tables, but he needed a closer look.

He walked towards the wide double doors, and he found he was holding his breath. He entered the restaurant and craned his head to catch a glimpse of them. His heart was in his throat, beating away in a frenzy. Its’ pace quickened even more when Arnold finally found them.

Stinky was on bended knee, facing in his direction. He was crouched beside their table. All Arnold could see was the back of Helga’s head. His breath left him in one explosive sigh.

He was too late.


	14. HELGA VI

**HELGA**

From the beginning, Helga knew something was different about this date. Helga was nothing if not intuitive, and she could always sense when something was up. “Hey Stinky? What gives? Are you gonna tell me where you’re taking me?” she asked.

She was sitting in the passenger seat of his beat up pickup truck. “Nope, it’s a surprise,” he said with some pride. He had called her earlier in the evening and mysteriously told her to get “all dolled up” and make sure she wore something black or white.

His request seemed peculiar to her, but she honored it nonetheless. When he picked her up, she was wearing a short black cocktail dress and black pumps. He looked very dapper in a white suite jacket. He wore black slacks with black, pointed shoes that gleamed.

Helga was mystified until they pulled up in front of the restaurant. She admired the view. It was situated so that the lake was in front of the restaurants big wide open window front. The patrons could look out and see the dark waters, the city lights reflecting on the surface.

Inside, they waited by the entrance and Stinky seemed more fidgety than usual. His hand on the small of her back nearly vibrated with poorly concealed excitement. It was a popular restaurant and expensive to boot. Maybe he was excited at taking her to someplace nice?

He called ahead for reservations so they were seated in a timely manner. When they arrived at their table, there was a bottle of champagne sitting in an ice bucket. Helga whistled, impressed.

“Pulling out all the stops tonight, aren’t we?” she said. She waggled her eyebrow at him suggestively and he beamed. “Only the best for my girl,” Stinky affectionately said. The restaurant was the kind of place whose menu didn’t list any prices, and for once Helga wasn’t worried.

With her first glass of champagne, she decided to stop being suspicious and enjoy herself. Stinky had a glass as well, but that would be his limit for the night. He usually acted as her built in designated driver. He didn’t have a taste for alcohol like she did, and didn’t miss it.

They ordered an extravagant meal and were half way through when Helga finished off their bottle of champagne. “I don’t know if you know this, sir, but this is the stuff you usually do _before_ you nail a girl, not after,” she crudely commented.

“Or it’s something you do before you propose to a girl,” Stinky said. Helga’s eyes almost popped out of her head when Stinky got down on one knee beside their table.

“Helga, my dear, I know we’ve only been goin’ out for six short months, but they’ve been the happiest months of my life. Really, I’ve been stupid not to ask you this sooner. Helga Pataki, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

All over the restaurant, there were eyes on them. She loved Stinky, but was she ready for this??? Helga gulped as she looked around, completely surprised. Nothing prepared her for what happened next.

“WAIT!”

Helga wrenched around in her seat to see where the shout came from. Arnold marched through the restaurant determinedly, coming down the aisle towards their table. Stinky was so shocked he hadn’t risen from his kneeling yet, mouth hanging open stupidly.

“Helga, I can’t let you do this! Not without knowing how I feel!”

“Arnold?!”

With her soft exclamation, Stinky realized he was holding out a ring box for a woman who was a million miles away. She only had eyes for Arnold, getting closer to them. Stinky glanced from her apprehensive face to Arnold’s, and his arm fell dejectedly to his side with the forgotten diamond ring.

Arnold stopped at their table and gave Stinky a pitying glance. “I’m sorry, but I’ve kept my feelings to myself long enough. I thought you were happier without me getting in the way,” Arnold said. “But I can’t stand the thought of you marrying Stinky when you don’t know that I love you, Helga!”

Helga sat in her chair, rooted to the spot, mouth agape. Did she just hear what she thought she heard?

“I love that you call me Football Head. I love the way we can just shut up for two seconds and be alone together. I love that you’re intense about everything, I wouldn’t change that about you,” he said. “You don’t always know the right thing to say, but you’re always there for me.”

Somehow, Arnold had stolen the spotlight. Everything was going horribly wrong. Stinky went to stand flabbergasted by the wayside. His broken heart was plain for all to see on his face.

Arnold grabbed Helga’s hands in his urgently. He only had eyes for her. “I love you because you’re always there to listen to me, especially when I feel alone. I love you because you understand me, you know how I feel even when I can’t say it. But I’m saying it now- I would give up my life to be with you, Helga. I would never hurt you, lie to you, or leave you.”

“Stinky….?”

Arnold blinked, realizing they weren’t the only two people in the restaurant right now. Stinky was standing behind Arnold, and Helga motioned him forward. He took a seat as Arnold shuffled out of the way, holding his breath.

“I’m sorry Stinky, but I can’t marry you,” Helga said at length. “I love you, but I could never say yes. I couldn’t do that to you. You deserve someone who loves you and only you,” Helga said to him. She stroked his lean face lovingly, then leaned in and pecked him on the cheek.

“I’m sorry to tell you, but I’ve been waiting years to hear those words out of that boy’s mouth,” Helga said, gesturing towards Arnold. Stinky looked down at his lap sullenly, his mouth set in a hard line. His male pride had been injured and he was publicly humiliated at the same time.

“If you say so, Helga.”

He stood and left the table. Arnold came forward again, and this time with Stinky gone Helga threw her arms around him. She and Arnold locked lips in a passionate embrace. The other patrons of the restaurant catcalled the couple and there was a smattering of applause.

“Well, excuse the hell outta me if I don’t applaud you,” Stinky commented loudly. He was at the front of the restaurant, paying their meal tab. Still acting the gentlemen. Arnold and Helga went past Stinky out the front door, arms interlocked.

When they were out in the night air, Helga smiled serenely. She paused at the curb to admire her good fortune. She was so busy daydreaming about what was to come she didn’t hear Stinky exit the restaurant behind them.

He tapped Arnold on the shoulder. “Hey Arnold, you forgot something,” Stinky said.

Arnold turned around to ask what, and that’s when Stinky nailed him with a sucker punch. Arnold saw stars, and then no more.


End file.
